Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

Today’s devotion comes from Genesis 13:1-18.

 

“¹ So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, he and his wife and all that belonged to him, and Lot with him.

 

² Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold.  ³ He went on his journeys from the Negev as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, ⁴ to the place of the altar which he had made there formerly;  and there Abram called on the name of the Lord.  ⁵ Now Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents.  ⁶ And the land could not sustain them while dwelling together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to remain together.  ⁷ And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock.  Now the Canaanite and the Perizzite were dwelling then in the land.

⁸ So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brothers.  ⁹ Is not the whole land before you?  Please separate from me;  if to the left, then I will go to the right;  or if to the right, then I will go to the left.”  ¹⁰ Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere—this was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah—like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar.  ¹¹ So Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward.  Thus they separated from each other. ¹² Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled in the cities of the valley, and moved his tents as far as Sodom.  ¹³ Now the men of Sodom were wicked exceedingly and sinners against the Lord.

¹⁴ The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward;  ¹⁵ for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever.  ¹⁶ I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants can also be numbered.  ¹⁷ Arise, walk about the land through its length and breadth;  for I will give it to you.”  ¹⁸ Then Abram moved his tent and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord.”  Genesis 13:1-18.

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It is more important to be chosen of God (as Abram was), than it is to make the apparent good choice (as Lot did).  Lot made the apparent good choice of the well watered land of the valley of the Jordan.  But, Abram was chosen of God (to receive many blessings, including today’s promise of giving Abram the land of Canaan and many descendants).  

“⁴ Seek the Lord and His strength;
Seek His face continually.
⁵ Remember His wonders which He has done,
His marvels and the judgments uttered by His mouth,
⁶ O seed of Abraham, His servant,
O sons of Jacob, His chosen ones!
⁷ He is the Lord our God;
His judgments are in all the earth.

Today’s devotion comes from Genesis 12:10-20.

 

“Now there was a famine in the land;  so Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land.  It came about when he came near to Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman;  and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife’;  and they will kill me, but they will let you live.  Please say that you are my sister so that it may go well with me because of you, and that I may live on account of you.”  It came about when Abram came into Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.  Pharaoh’s officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh;  and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.  Therefore he treated Abram well for her sake;  and gave him sheep and oxen and donkeys and male and female servants and female donkeys and camels.

 

But the Lord struck Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.  Then Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me?  Why did you not tell me that she was your wife?  Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife?  Now then, here is your wife, take her and go.”  Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him;  and they escorted him away, with his wife and all that belonged to him.”  Genesis 12:10-20.

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Today’s Scripture shows the wonderful protection that God gave to Abram and Sarai.  God so zealously protects us too.  We too are the apple of His eye.

“For thus says the Lord of hosts, “After glory He has sent me against the nations which plunder you, for he who touches you, touches the apple of His eye.”  Zechariah 2:8

“Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  Do not fear;  you are more valuable than many sparrows.”  Luke 12:7

God “… so preserves me that without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head;  yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation …”  Question and Answer 1 of the Heidelberg Catechism.

“¹⁰ ‘Do not fear, for I am with you;
Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, surely I will help you,
Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
¹¹ “Behold, all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored;
Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish.
¹² “You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them,
Those who war with you will be as nothing and non-existent.
¹³ “For I am the Lord your God, who upholds your right hand,
Who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’”  Isaiah 41:10-13.

Today’s devotion comes from Genesis 12:7-9.

 

“⁷ The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.”  So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him.  ⁸ Then he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east;  and there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord.  ⁹ Abram journeyed on, continuing toward the Negev.”  Genesis 12:7-9.

 

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Twice, in today’s Scripture, we read about Abraham building an altar to the LORD.  Verses 7 and 8.  And yet, there was no specific command from the LORD to do so.  And, there was no ceremonial law which required it.  There was only the promise of God:  “To your descendants I will give this land.”  Verse 7.

 

Lest we get caught up in a focus on Abraham and his work rather than a focus on God and His promise, let us remember Galatians 3:16-18.   

 

“Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as referring to many, but rather to one, “And to your seed,” that is, Christ.  What I am saying is this:  the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise.  For if the inheritance is based on law, it is no longer based on a promise;  but God has granted it to Abraham by means of a promise.”  Galatians 3:16-18.    

 

There are 369 references to the word “altar” in the New American Standard Version of Scripture – Click here: BibleGateway.com – Keyword Search: altar  And, there were countless sacrifices made on those altars. 

 

 

“But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation;  and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.”  Hebrews 9:11-12. 

 

                               

“Behold, days are coming, says the Lord,
When I will effect a new covenant
With the house of Israel and with the house of Judah;
Not like the covenant which I made with their fathers
On the day when I took them by the hand
To lead them out of the land of Egypt;
For they did not continue in My covenant,
And I did not care for them, says the Lord.
“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
After those days, says the Lord:
I will put My laws into their minds,
And I will write them on their hearts.
And I will be their God,
And they shall be My people.
“And they shall not teach everyone his fellow citizen,
And everyone his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’
For all will know Me,
From the least to the greatest of them.
“For I will be merciful to their iniquities,
And I will remember their sins no more.”

In conclusion, “how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”  Hebrews 9:14.

Today’s devotion comes from Genesis 12:4-6.

 

“⁴ So Abram went forth as the Lord had spoken to him;  and Lot went with him.  Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.  ⁵ Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan;  thus they came to the land of Canaan.  ⁶ Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanite was then in the land.”   Genesis 12:4-6.

 

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We remember the immediately preceding Scripture.

 

“¹ Now the Lord said to Abram,

Today’s devotion comes from Genesis 12:1-3.                                                                  

 

“¹ Now the Lord said to Abram,

Today’s devotion comes from Genesis 11:10-32.

 

 

We will focus on the following verses.

 

“Now these are the records of the generations of Terah.  Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran; and Haran became the father of Lot.  Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans.  Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves.  The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah and Iscah.  Sarai was barren;  she had no child.”  Genesis 11:27-30.

 

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Our eyes may glaze over, and we may want to skip certain parts of Scripture, but “Every word of God is tested;  He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.”  Proverbs 30:5  

 

What may seem as boring Scripture lays a foundation of facts to help us understand and better appreciate later awesome miracles.

 

For example, in today’s Scripture, we find the fact that Abram’s family lived in the land of Ur of the Chaldeans.  And later, we read and can better appreciate:  “And He said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land (Canaan) to possess it.”  Genesis 15:7

Today’s devotion comes from Genesis 11:1-1-9.

 

“Now the whole earth used the same language and the same words.  It came about as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.  They said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly.”  And they used brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar.  They said, “Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”  The Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.  The Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language.  And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them.  Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.”  So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth;  and they stopped building the city.  Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth;  and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth.”  Genesis 11:1-9. 

 

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The LORD’s will was that Noah and his descendants would populate (fill) the earth.  “And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.”  Genesis 9:1.  See also Genesis 9:7. 

 

But, “They said, “Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”  Verse 4.

 

“So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth;  and they stopped building the city.”  Verse 8.

 

The LORD likewise wants us to “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.”   Jesus commands us to “… Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”  Mark 16:15

 

Some of us will remain close to family and friends where we grew up.  But, others of us will be scattered across the country and even the world.  

 

Hopefully, today’s Scripture will particularly encourage those of us who move away from where we grew up that the LORD causes our “scattered” movement to accomplish His will that we “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.”, that we “… Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” 

 

 

“You are the salt of the earth;  but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again?  It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.

                                                      

“You are the light of the world.  A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;  nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”  Matthew 5:13-16.

Like salt needs to be scattered across the meat to penetrate and preserve every part of the meat, we need to be scattered across the world to penetrate and preserve every part of the world. 

Like light needs to penetrate the darkness to reach every corner to expose everything and to provide light for all to see, we need to penetrate the spiritual darkness, to reach every corner of the world, to expose all wickedness, and to enlighten everyone with the light of the Gospel.  

Some of us may be seasoning injected into one part of the meat.  But, some of us may be scattered like salt grains across the whole broad surface.

Some of us may be lighthouses.  But, some of us may be flashlights to bring light to others far away.

The LORD blesses us by causing us to be scattered to “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.”   The LORD blesses us by causing us to be scattered to “… Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” 

Today’s devotion comes from Genesis Chapter 10.

 

Today’s devotion comes from Genesis 9:18-29.

 

“¹⁸ Now the sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem and Ham and Japheth;  and Ham was the father of Canaan.  ¹⁹ These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated.

 

²⁰ Then Noah began farming and planted a vineyard.  ²¹ He drank of the wine and became drunk, and uncovered himself inside his tent.  ²² Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside.  ²³ But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it upon both their shoulders and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father;  and their faces were turned away, so that they did not see their father’s nakedness.  ²⁴ When Noah awoke from his wine, he knew what his youngest son had done to him.  ²⁵ So he said,

²⁶ He also said,

²⁸ Noah lived three hundred and fifty years after the flood.  ²⁹ So all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years, and he died.”  Genesis 9:18-29.

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“Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be prolonged and that it may go well with you on the land which the Lord your God gives you.”  Deuteronomy 5:6.  (The Fifth Commandment of the Ten Commandments).

Ham did not honor his father Noah, and he was cursed and it did not go well with him.  Shem and Japheth did honor their father Noah, and they were blessed and it did go well with them.

“For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother is to be put to death.’”  Matthew 15:4

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.  Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise), so that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth.”  Ephesians 6:1-3.

But, some may claim:  “You don’t know my father and mother!  They don’t deserve such honor!!”

Well, Noah may not have been on his best behavior in today’s Scripture.  Yet, Noah’s sons still had the duty to honor their father, and the failure of Ham to honor his father Noah resulted in a curse upon Ham.

But, there is hope!

“Remember the law of Moses My servant, even the statutes and ordinances which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel.

“Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord.  He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.””  Malachi 4:4-6.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control;  against such things there is no law.  Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.  Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.”  Galatians 5:22-26.

Today’s devotion comes from Genesis 9:1-17. 

 

 

We will focus on the following verses 9-17.

 

“⁹ “Now behold, I Myself do establish My covenant with you, and with your descendants after you;  ¹⁰ and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you;  of all that comes out of the ark, even every beast of the earth.  ¹¹ I establish My covenant with you;  and all flesh shall never again be cut off by the water of the flood, neither shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth.”  ¹² God said, “This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations;  ¹³ I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth.  ¹⁴ It shall come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow will be seen in the cloud, ¹⁵ and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh;  and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh. ¹⁶ When the bow is in the cloud, then I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”  ¹⁷ And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”  Genesis 9:9-17.

 

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There are some good Reformed articles on the doctrine of the covenant at these links –  

The Covenant: God’s Tabernacle with Men *				Rev. H. Hoeksema
The Covenant of God and the Children of Believers *				Prof. D. Engelsma
The Forgotten Pink  (pdf)				Rev. Ronald Hanko
Justification: The Heart of the Gospel (3 lectures)				Rev. R. Van OverloopProf. David Engelsma Rev. W. Langerak
The Unconditional Covenant in Contemporary Debate *				Prof. David J. Engelsma
Keeping God’s Covenant (six lectures)				Hanko & Engelsma
The Covenant of God				Rev. Herman Veldman Intro. By Rev. T. Miersma
Evangelism and the Reformed Faith *				Prof. D. Engelsma
The Gospel *				Rev. H. Hoeksema
The Latest Attack on Grace in the Reformed Churches: Justification by Works – A Covenant Heresy and Questions  (Order CD) (Federal Vision)				Prof. David J. Engelsma

 

 

With the short format of this devotion, I can only point to a few things, besides the above-stated importance of this subject and the references above.  I have chosen to focus first on the role of God in the covenant from today’s Scripture, to focus second on a general description of the covenant by Professor Engelsma from his above-stated book, and to focus third on a specific description of one of the categories of beneficiaries of this specific Covenant of the Rainbow (which is the covenant described by today’s Scripture), namely how creation benefits from this specific covenant, also from Professor Engelsma from his above-stated book. 

 

First, when we read the verses which I have copied below with bold italic for emphasis, notice how God pounds the table that it is He Himself who is establishes the covenant.  This is not a contract or agreement which essentially is:  “I will do my part only if you do your part.”  These are unconditional promises and actions by God.